Beef trinchado - Portuguese South African beef stew (2024)

4.98 from 189 votes

An epicurean adventure to: South Africa

This Trinchado recipe is a delicious South African-Portuguese beef stew made from cubed steak, cooked in a beautiful spicy sauce.

It's believed to have originated in neighbouring Angola and Mozambique, both former Portuguese colonies.

The vibrant Portuguese communities in South Africa often sold Trinchado in their cafes and restaurants where it's been adopted into South African cuisine. It's a firm favourite on many restaurant menus these days.

This spicy stew is slow-cooked in red wine and beef stock and exquisitely flavoured with red chilli and lots of garlic and bay leaves.

There are two versions, one with cream and one without. This is a cream version. It gives a silky richness to the dish which balances well with the gentle simmer of the chilli.

Before you start on your Trinchado, please make sure to read our important things to know about Trinchado and notes on the cooking vessel and consistency while cooking.

For more traditional South African recipes, try this easy Bobotie recipe alongside flavourful basmati yellow rice. Finish it off with the famous malva pudding or peppermint crisp tart, a national institution in South Africa. If it's Portuguese food you're after, these Prego steak rolls and Nando's spicy rice are a must!

Also, if you're serving bread rolls with your Trinchado, learn how to make butter rosettes like in the photo below.

Fast facts - South Africa

What's to love about this beef Trinchado recipe

• Perfectly balanced flavours.

• Easy recipe.

• This beef dish is very popular with the veg-hating carnivores.

• It's the ultimate comfort food.

• Doesn't need an overly long cooking time. Some Trinchado recipes have to be cooked for 4-5 hours, but not this one!

• The sauce is out of this world, deep and rich with a spicy kick. Perfect for dipping your chips or bread roll in.

• Can be served as a main meal or a starter, as is often the tradition in South Africa. Serving it as a starter allows you to accommodate more people using smaller portions, bearing in mind the price of steak these days!

• Embodies strong Portuguese influences.

Key ingredient notes and substitutions

**Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full list of ingredients.

Beef cubes

We use rump steak but you can also use porterhouse, sirloin, rib-eye or if budget allows, fillet steak.

If you prefer lamb, you can also use lamb rump or other favourite cuts of lamb.

Side tip for the Brits: If you're looking for an affordable rump, try Aldi's 'Big Daddy Extra Thick Rump Steak'. Two steaks will be just under a kilo, but you can stick to the original recipe quantities for all the other ingredients, it's fine.

A note on using dry-aged meat

A note on using dry-aged meat: We received feedback from Conrad who used dry-aged rump for his Trinchado.

We came to the consensus that, for aged meat, you need to reduce the cooking time by about a third since it has already experienced some moisture loss.

Therefore, you may want to consider cooking it for no more than an hour, rather than the original one and a half hours.

Worcestershire sauce

Just plain old Worcestershire sauce.

Vegetable oil

Olive oil or any other neutral oil like sunflower or corn oil will work too.

Onions

Red, brown or white onions.

Red chillies

This recipe calls for two fresh red chillies. Adjust the quantity based on your preference and the type of chilli you're using.

In the UK, we commonly use the 'unnamed' red chillies available in most supermarkets, which are believed to be of the milder Serrano variety.

Two of these chillies give a 'gentle but definitely there' simmer. Keep in mind that the likes of bird's eye chillies are hotter, so adjust according to taste.

If you really like it hot, you can add a pinch of cayenne pepper too.

If serving Trinchado to children, consider using a bit less chilli, unless they are accustomed to a bit of heat and enjoy it.

Garlic

We take the lazy route and use the pre-minced garlic in tubes/tubs.

If you prefer using fresh garlic, the recipe needs about 5-6 fat garlic cloves. It's a lot, yes, but it's crucial to the character of Trinchado.

Best to not schedule any in-person, close-up meetings for the following day!

Flour

Used to thicken the sauce.

You can also use cornflour. Just make sure you don't add cornflour in its powdered form as it will clump up immediately in the sauce. Make a slurry first with one tablespoon of cornflour to about two tablespoons of water.

Beef stock

You can use stock cubes for convenience but you can also make your own stock from scratch.

We use two Oxo beef stock cubes to make 300ml of beef stock, so we usually don't add much extra salt.

Red wine

The purists will say to only use a Portuguese red wine, but this doesn't matter too much if you haven't got any to hand.

We stick with the Latin theme and use Malbec, but honestly, most red wines will do.

Cream

This makes a huge difference to the body of a Trinchado.

The recipe calls for 150ml of double cream, but check the level of liquid first and adjust this to how saucy you would like the Trinchado to be. Use less or use more, as long as there is some cream in it.

Optional extras

Optional acidity - It's not traditional, but lemon zest, a dash of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar add some zing and freshness to an otherwise heavy dish.

Optional Peri-Peri sauce - We personally don't use it in the recipe itself, but some people enjoy adding a few splashes of Peri-Peri sauce to the Trinchado. Add it to the rest of the liquid ingredients. You will need about two tablespoons.

Optional olives - You can add about 20 black olives (pitted) to the Trinchado. Add it at the same time as you add the browned beef back into the saucepan.

Important things to know about Trinchado

It doesn't compare to your typical stew, so don't treat it like one.

A traditional stew is bulked up with veggies, providing a large portion with more budget-friendly ingredients like tougher meat cuts and potatoes. Plus, it has a milder taste.

Trinchado is essentially just meat in a very rich sauce, making it less cost-effective than your standard stew, unless you're in a place where steak cuts like rump are affordable.

However, you need less of it because of the richness and it's best enjoyed with a generous side of fresh, crusty bread or chips for dipping in the flavourful sauce. It needs to be savoured.

How to make Trinchado: Step-by-step

1. Use a sharp knife to cut the steak into large, bite-sized chunks.

2. In a large bowl, combine the cubed meat along with the four tablespoons Worcestershire sauce. Ensure every cube is coated by stirring the sauce through the meat.

3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to marinate.

4. Make the sauce by adding the beef stock, red wine, tomato paste and sugar to a jug or mixing bowl.

5. In a medium-large, heavy-based saucepan, heat half the butter (15g) and half the oil (1 tbsp) over medium-high heat.

   Once the oil and butter are sizzling, batch-fry the cubed steak until golden brown on all sides. This is an important step as it adds flavour to the dish.

6. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the browned beef to the same bowl it was marinated in.

7. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the remaining butter (15g) and oil (1 tbsp).

   Once the butter and oil are hot, add the chopped onions and chillies. Fry until the onions are soft and translucent. This will take about5 minutes. Stir every once in a while to ensure it's not sticking to the pan.

8. Add the chopped garlic and fry for30 seconds.

9. Add the flour and stir it through the onions. Cook for1 minute. Keep scraping the bottom of the pan during this step to avoid the flour from sticking too much.

   (The flour will stick a little bit and it's unavoidable, but don't worry, we're going to deglaze the pan in a minute.)

10. Add the sauce you combined earlier.

    Deglaze the pan by stirring and scraping the sticky bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. This 'residue' will melt into the sauce and add flavour.

    Turn the heat down to low and simmer the sauce for2-3 minutesuntil it starts to thicken slightly.

11. Add the bay leaves.

12. Tip the meat into the pan along with any remaining marinade in the bowl.

    Stir the meat through the sauce and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover the pan tightly with a lid. With the heat still on low, simmer for1.5 hours.

    Check the liquid level every10-15 minutesor so and give it a quick stir. If it seems like the Trinchado may need more liquid, add another splash of red wine or water.

13. Taste for salt and add more if needed. The beef stock is already salty so you may not need more than ½ teaspoon salt.

14. Add the black pepper.

15. Add the cream. Stir and heat through for1-2 minutes.

    If you feel you need more sauce at this point, you can add a touch more cream. If it's already looking saucy enough, add less cream than the recipe states.

16. Allow the Trinchado to rest for10 minutesbefore serving.

17. Serve with chunky chips or fresh white bread rolls to mop up the delicious sauce.

Important notes on the cooking vessel and consistency of the Trinchado while cooking

The type and size of the pot or pan you use, along with the gas ring/burner size on your stove, will influence how quickly the Trinchado may lose liquid.

• Avoid using a pot with a surface area that's too large, as it can make the liquid evaporate too quickly. This might result in the Trinchado cooking dry or burning.

• Cook over the lowest heat setting once you start the clock for the 1.5 hours, matching the gas ring/burner size to the pot you are using.

• Keep a constant eye on it. If it appears dry, add a small splash of wine or water, stirring it in (remember, you'll be adding cream later too). Scrape the bottom to ensure it's not sticking.

• If there seems to be too much liquid, shift the lid to the side for a few minutes to create a gap, allowing some steam to escape.

Serving suggestions

• Traditional beef Trinchado is served with chips/French fries. You can either serve it on the side, on top, or below the meat.

• You can also serve it with any good bread, or fresh Portuguese rolls (Papo Secos) if you want to be authentic. The bread is used for mopping up every last drop of the delicious Trinchado sauce.

• Serve with Parmentier potatoes.

• Scatter over some parsley or coriander for a bit of colour.

• Serve with a dollop of sour cream on the side.

• Top tip - Trinchado is weirdly delicious cold the next day! No? Just us?

Storage

It will keep well in the fridge for up to three days. Re-heat in the microwave or over low heat in a saucepan. Add a splash of water or more cream to loosen it up.

Trinchado freezes well for up to three months. Defrost by putting it in the fridge the day before. Re-heat in the microwave or over low heat in a saucepan. Add a splash of water or more cream to loosen it up.

FAQ

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